


Free

by fuckyeahlucifersupernatural



Series: Half Of You [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Samifer - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 19:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckyeahlucifersupernatural/pseuds/fuckyeahlucifersupernatural
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucifer isn't doing so well adjusting to life in the bunker. Sam decides to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free

It’s almost a bit too fitting to have Lucifer wearing Dean’s Misfits t-shirt. The worn skull stares at Sam with its deep socketed eyes and indecipherable grin, a looming marker to Sam that the being walking in the bunker had the capability of slaughtering powerful entities in milliseconds. Lucifer once dragged Death with him wherever he went and despite the lack of Grace, Lucifer’s still a threat.

Sam has considered killing him. He doesn’t need to talk to Dean to know his brother would laud the idea and give him numerous of reasons why keeping Lucifer alive is a foolhardy risk. It would be easy with the archangel in a vulnerable state. A bullet to the skull. Slitting his throat in his sleep. Suffocating him. Abandoning him in the middle of the wild to eventually starve or die from the elements. 

Sam doesn’t think anyone would miss the archangel. Something about that thought makes his lips twist in uncertainty, sitting like unbalanced acid in his throat. The fantasies of death die somewhere in his gullet and he can only observe the archangel with a mild dose of caution. 

The former archangel, currently, pads throughout the bunker on bare feet and Sam’s sweatpants, cupping his cup of coffee. It’s been a few weeks since the finding of Lucifer and it’s taking time for the residents in the bunker to adjust. 

Dean can’t help but scowl and make a purposeful show of cleaning his guns at the table. Kevin is stuck in a state of awe and mild terror, not quite sure what to make of the scruffy Lucifer. Sam’s doing his best to get used to the image of Lucifer milling through his home, trying to separate the fear his hallucination brought to the real blond. The archangel doesn’t seem bothered by it. He knows when to give Sam space when he feels the hunter tensing at his presence. He keeps his responses open and frank when questioned and does his best to entertain himself. 

Lucifer has yet to speak to him of the Cage, their past conversation aching for another. Sam knows it’s because of him. Lucifer’s waiting for him to initiate this conversation and the hunter’s not sure if he’s terrified or uninterested in learning the truth. So despite the promising beginning they showed when Lucifer came through the doors, it has quickly died off into a wary dance.

Sam’s not quite sure how Lucifer is adjusting. The blond spends his days exploring the bunker, running his fingers across the spines of each book and ending up in the thicket that makes up the bunker’s backyard. He’ll sit there with his becomingly cold cup of coffee, staring aimlessly about as if he’s been plunged into a dream. It takes Sam a few days to understand Lucifer’s trying his best to familiarize himself with an unfamiliar place. It takes a week to catch how rigid the archangel moves and the bags under his eyes. There’s a distinguishable tremble in his hands whenever he relinquishes the coffee mug, digits jittering slightly and only quelled when they’re grasping the mug. 

Lucifer is busy sipping his lukewarm coffee in the library, perching himself on one of the armchairs and staring at the bookshelves pushed into the wall. He shouldn’t care or concern himself with how _Satan_ is adjusting, right? It’s easier said than done. Sam doesn’t have the heart to wall himself off from Lucifer, who has only been disarming and patient with him. There are twangs of guilt at his intentional avoidance of the archangel, only aiding in making him miserable.

“Are you okay?” Sam asks, having to clear his throat and repeat the question when his words come out unused and scratchy. 

Lucifer’s fingers tighten on the mug and he raises his head to attention, the only sign of surprise he’ll reveal. The angel frowns for a moment before shaking his head. “It feels different with the absence of my Grace,” he confesses, tapping his index finger against the mug’s side. “I’ve never felt so tethered to the Earth before -- do you realize how unbearably heavy gravity is?” Lucifer sighs softly before tilting his head to the left in a new beat, suddenly focused in on Sam. Sam can see he’s starving for conversation and it hurts to look at it.

In the end, Sam only shakes his head in response.

The ex-angel sighs and returns to staring at the bookshelf of interest. 

“You’re homesick,” Sam murmurs when it begins to click. Lucifer shoots him a withering look that makes the worry lines dig deeper into the blond’s forehead for just a moment. “Not homesick -- I mean... Gracesick,” Sam quickly fixes.

The archangel’s features smooth out, corner of his mouth upturning and giving a helpless scoff in amusement. “Gracesick,” he parrots back, tasting the word on his tongue before lifting his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose. The mug gives a dangerous tilt downward, Lucifer’s lone hand seeming to struggle to keep the mug up. Christ, that wasn’t a good sign.

Sam watches Lucifer return his trembling fingers to the coffee mug. Sam wonders if there even is coffee inside of the mug. If he’s just holding onto it to keep his hands still, repeating the motions of sipping for the sake of blending in...

Lucifer looks worn. Tired. Lost. The only difference from the Lucifer he found out in the rain and this one here is hygiene. The hunter thought the bunker would help bring color back to Lucifer and be an ample place to recover (why he wants the Devil to recover still escapes him). It doesn’t seem like the former archangel is improving, looking more like a captive animal than a being who regained his freedom. Out of one cage and into another... 

“You should rest. You look tired.” 

Lucifer makes a face, a familiar stubborn trace defining his features. Sam’s lips purse, venturing forward with embolden determination and challenge.

“When was the last time you slept?” 

The blond eyes him silently, back slowly straightening at Sam’s approach. “Six days,” Lucifer mumbled, earning Sam’s swearing under his breath. The archangel gives a small smile at watching Sam’s hands fall on his hips, brows creased with worry and shooting him an annoyed look. 

“Is it because of this?” Sam huffs, Lucifer watching Sam’s infallible ability to be concerned over others bloom before him. The archangel gives a nod. “You can’t...you’ll get sick and hurt yourself if you keep this up. Trust me. Lucifer I -- _just_ , stay there. Don’t move,” the hunter begins to lecture before shaking his head, jabbing a finger at him. 

Lucifer watches Sam storm off, remaining put until he sees Sam coming back. Sam’s carrying two bundles of...some sort of fabric? Is one of them a pillow? Lucifer is drawing a blank and Sam doesn’t seem like he’s going to be sharing the knowledge of these items to him. 

“Follow me,” the brunette motions, “And leave the cup. I’ll get it later.” He spins on his heels and leads the way, hearing Lucifer’s soft footsteps after him. “You’re supposed to tell me these things, Lucifer,” Sam hears himself saying and he it sounds strange coming out of his mouth. It’s frustrating to not understand why he feels obligated to keep Lucifer alive and around. Maybe it’s because he’s Lucifer’s true vessel and there will always be that instinctual urge. Maybe it’s just sheer guilt that he ruined Lucifer’s plan and shoved him back in isolation. Sam has no clue and he’s not sure he wants to do some soul searching (pun not included) into why he’s here, at this moment, with a powerless Lucifer. 

Sam turns a corner and his feet meet steps, hearing Lucifer hum in curiosity at this new location. Climbing the set of stairs, Sam shoots Lucifer a backwards glance to make sure the former archangel is able to get up the stairs. 

“I’ve only been here twice. I sort of figured how to work it. Still have to do some reading but there’s never been any reason to use this. I think... I think this will help you sleep,” Sam begins to fill up the silence and Lucifer gives a noncommittal sound to show he’s listening. 

It’s dark at their destination and Sam can feel Lucifer near him, imagining his fingers are just a breadth away from his shirt to keep check of where he is in the dark. “Stay here, okay?” Sam informs, moving away from the archangel, groping in the gloom. Lucifer’s eyes don’t gleam a dangerous blue in the darkness like they use to, Sam notices when he looks back. Nothing burns behind his pupils, Sam only able to make the shape of the Devil. He really is more human than archangel now.

Hands touch metal, grabbing it firmly and giving a tug. Metal groans and Sam begins to pull more, working through the metal until light begins to streak through. Nightlight peeks through, revealing the color and the objects in the room. By the time he’s finished, Lucifer’s eager to move from his spot, staring in fascination at what’s before him.

“Welcome to the Men of Letters’ observatory. Pretty neat, huh?” Sam waves a hand for Lucifer to move, the shorter male moving from his spot with his head tilted back to stare at the massive opening in the ceiling. Pitch black of night greeted him, bespeckled with stars in variating shades of murky blues and golds. 

“It’s beautiful...” Lucifer mumbles, eyes glued to the sky. Lucifer hears Sam shuffling about but he doesn’t turn to see what his vessel is doing. It has been too achingly long since he’s seen the sky like this. There’s a sensation of smallness he is not familiar with, unable to physically perceive the stars as to what they truly look like anymore. Unable to simply reach out and touch them. Even with his limited eyesight, to witness the sky like this is enough to keep him at ease. 

“Hey, you can sit here if you want,” Sam cuts in, Lucifer finally averting his gaze to see that what was in Sam’s arms was a sleeping bag and a pillow. Lucifer moves over to it and takes a seat, bare feet sneaking inside of the bag before he wiggles his way inside. Sam can’t help the smile in amusement creeping on his face at the sight, watching the archangel adjust and squirm till he’s comfortable. 

Sam scratches at the back of his head when he catches the chuckle that nearly escapes from his mouth. He clears his throat, turning his body towards the staircase, “I’ll give you some space. You can sleep up here tonight, if you want.”

Sam can hear Lucifer move in his sleeping bag, “Will you come back up later?” 

The hunter turns back to face the blond, not to sure how to respond. It’s harmless and there are no repercussions if he comes back or not. He could just briefly check up on him and head back to his own room for the night. Sam nods his head, “Yeah, I’ll come back up later.” 

Sam Winchester ends up having to grab another sleeping bag to lay out beside Lucifer later on in the night. The archangel found his tongue, chattering endlessly about the stars and their components. The uneasy tension fades as he listens to Lucifer, watching his hands stretched out and mapping out the sky with his fingertips. Sam spends a half hour watching the former archangel, face lit up and proud at the sky stretched out before him. When Lucifer turns his head to speak to him, Sam realizes midway through Lucifer describing stars being in perfect balance thanks to nuclear fusion, that it’s not the sky that makes Lucifer light up. 

It’s him. 

The night ends with the two of them curled in their sleeping bags, sleeping soundly in the company of space and her stars. There’s a permanent smile on the sleeping archangel’s face, because Sam Winchester came back for him.

**Author's Note:**

> So from, I believe, the recent issue of the Comic Con magazine that it gave an exclusive sneak peek into the bunker. There was an observatory and whatnot! So there ya go!
> 
>  
> 
> _Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!_


End file.
